The Big Four - The Case Of The Missing Professor
by SiaCatGirl
Summary: Jack Frost, Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel form a teen detective group as they set out to find professor Albert Carp, who suddenly went missing. Modern AU. Rated T for safety. R&R!


**So I decided to write this fanfic which is a croosover between the Big Four and one of the books I found in my home library. Basically it's my translation of this story from Russian into English, so don't really mind any vocabulary or grammar mistakes. If you became interested, I'll keep on writing. Takes place in the modern AU.**

**There are some things I want to point out, and one of them is that I made Hiccup and Rapunzel siblings: brother and sister. In this story Punzie has short brown hair and there's a 1-year difference in age between them. Personally, I think when Punzie has short haircut she really looks like Hiccup's sister. See for youself: they both have short brown hair, green eyes, freckles... That's more than enough to me.**

**I don't own HTTYD, Tangled, Brave, ROTG and the book I mentioned (only a licenced copy of it). They belong to their rightful owners.**

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- Come on, Hiccup, what takes you so long? – Rapunzel tried to make her older brother hurry up a little.

- I'm stuck, - her brother answered in a squeezed whisper.

- Typical, - Punzie threw her hands into the air.

- You'd better help me, - Hiccup sounded rather offended. – There's some sort of barbed wire here.

- Where did you get that? – his sister asked.

- You think I know? – Hiccup murmured with irritation in his useless attempts to get himself free. – It sounds like I left it here on purpose.

- Ugh, I'm so tired of you, - said Punzie as she hurried to help her brother. But she didn't even get close to the fence when a sound of torn cloth was heard. Tall and scrawny Hiccup went through the bushes.

- Looks like I dealt with that without you, – he said in a relieved tone of voice.

- Yeah, I see, - Rapunzel shook her head with a tragicomic expression on her face.

- Who cares about that? – her older brother frowned. – Besides, I got myself free pretty nicely.

- Well, actually, yes, - Punzie continued in the same manner. – Of course if you don't mind that your favourite shirt is now missing a piece of cloth.

That was true. His new shirt now had a big hole in it. At first the boy looked sad. Then he quickly comforted himself:

- Hey, Punzie, I think I look even more stylish now.

- Okay, if you like it, I'll get along with that, – the girl grinned. – Alright. Let's go. Jack and Merida must be waiting for us. No one will ever get anywhere on time with you, Hiccup.

- Like it's actually possible, - her brother answered while fingering the hole on his shirt.

- Hiccup, if you keep on doing that, - Rapunzel watched his movements closely, - you'll tear your shirt apart completely.

- Thank you for summing that up, - he replied sarcastically and went forward.

An old cottage village named Red Mountains, which really didn't even have any hills, let alone mountains, was drowning in late twilight. But in the middle of July "white nights", as they're called by locals, happen almost every evening. Unfortunately, today the sky was full of clouds. So this night turned out to be darker than usual.

- Now everything we need is a nice small shower, - Hiccup looked worriedly at the cloudy sky. – Then I'll catch the cold for sure.

- Stop being such a worrywart, - Punzie replied. – Besides, - her voice suddenly turned low. – You'd better look over there.

- Where? – Hiccup stared at her.

Rapunzel was quietly pointing her finger at the cottage which they were passing by right now. Despite the late time, the lights on the ground floor were lit.

- What is he…

- Quiet! – Punzie put her finger on her lips. – You wanna get us caught?

Hiccup shook his head resolutely. Then quickly whispered:

- Let's get outta here.

Brother and sister were about to go to the forest side of the territory so they could get to the nearby lane when a shout came from the house. The boy and the girl froze in place. Lights in the cottage were now off.

- What was that? – Hiccup whispered into Rapunzel's ear.

- I have no idea, - her words were barely heard. Standing still, they listened carefully to the silence that surrounded them. A minute later, Hiccup and Punzie decided that was only their imagination. Only one thing remained unclear. And that's the reason of why the light suddenly turned off. But in the next moment they found an explanation to it. Probably the owner of the cottage was reading till now. Then he finally decided to go sleeping. And turned off the lights.

- Come on, - Rapunzel told her brother. – Or we're gonna get even more late.

Hiccup was just about to follow his sister, but a wave of doubt struck him.

- Punzie, wait.

- What now? – the girl looked at him with annoyance.

- What if he's sick? – Hiccup said thoughtfully.

- Who? – she still didn't get it.

- Albert Carp, of course, - the boy named the lonely owner of this cottage by his name and surname.

- You always make up silly stories, - Rapunzel shook her head. – And why do you think he would feel sick exactly when we accidently turned out near his house at night?

- People always get sick unexpectedly, - Hiccup said in a manner-of-fact tone. – Or no one would ever die.

- You're a psycho, you understand that? – Punzie twisted her finger near her temple. – That's how your line of logic goes. Mr. Carp felt sick. And so he shouted to let the whole village know about it. Then turned off the lights. Like, "why should I waste electricity if I'm already going to die?" And after that he lied down quietly and died.

- Why "died" all of a sudden? – Hiccup was indignant. – Personally, I believe he's still alive. And it's our duty, Punzie, to save Albert Carp.

- I wonder how you're gonna do it, Hiccup, - Rapunzel said.

- We'll check the door first, - her brother answered. – Maybe it's unlocked. If it's not, we'll get inside through an open window on the ground floor. And call 911.

- Oh, yeah, - Punzie smirked. – Now let's try another situation. Mr. Carp was reading and then accidently fell asleep. Then he had a nightmare. He started shouting and woke up because of his own screams. Then Mr. Carp turned off the lights and fell asleep again. You, Hiccup, and I get inside through the window. Mr. Carp wakes up…

For a moment she didn't say a word. Then added quickly:

- After such a wake up I think he's really gonna need some 911 service. And when our grandma finds out that we broke into someone's cottage, - Punzie went on, - we'll have to call 911 once again.

- Maybe you're right, - Hiccup said uncertainly.

- Not "maybe", but "absolutely", - the girl stood her ground. – Besides, let's go to our friends. They must be worried sick about us.

- Alright, - Hiccup gave in. – Though I'm certain Mr. Carp could get sick.

- You're such a jerk sometimes, - Rapunzel said under her breath. – If I hear this once…

She suddenly turned silent. And there was a reason to. The door of Mr. Carp's cottage opened with a little scratching sound. Teens shrugged unintentionally.

- Looks like he heard us, - Hiccup whispered. In the next moment brother and sister hid behind a big jasmine bush. They listened to the silence, barely breathing. At first they heard quiet noises coming from the porch, and then the whisper came. Unfortunately, not a word was possible to understand. Rapunzel decided to see what's going on.

- Look, - she pulled her brother's sleeve. Hiccup saw it now too. There were three people on the porch. Two tall men: one on the left side and one the right. The third one was between them, his height was one head shorter. They were holding him sturdily under his arms.


End file.
